Camp David | presidential retreat, Maryland, United States | Britannica.com presidential retreat, Maryland, United States Written By: Palazzo Vecchio Camp David, formerly (until 1953) Shangri-La, rural retreat of U.S. presidents in Catoctin Mountain Park, a unit of the National Park Service on a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Frederick county, northern Maryland , U.S. Camp David lies just west of Thurmont and 64 miles (103 km) northwest of Washington, D.C. The retreat, which comprises a scenic mountainous area of 200 acres (81 hectares), is surrounded by maximum-security fencing and is closed to the public. It was established as Shangri-La in 1942 by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt , who named it for the Tibetan paradise in James Hilton ’s novel Lost Horizon. Pres. Harry S. Truman made it the official presidential retreat in 1945, and Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it Camp David in 1953 for his grandson.

The retreat is administered by the White House Military Office and includes a presidential office and living quarters, swimming pool, and meeting hall. Since the meeting there between President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II , it has been the scene of a number of high-level presidential conferences with foreign heads of state. In 1959, at the height of the Cold War , Eisenhower hosted Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David. In September 1978, through the intervention of Pres. Jimmy Carter , the retreat was the site of a historic peace agreement (known as the Camp David Accords ) reached between Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin . In May 2015 Pres. Barack Obama convened a rare international summit at the mountain retreat with leaders from member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council . Learn More in these related articles: Camp David FAS | Nuke | Guide | USA | C3I |||| Index | Search | Camp David Presidential Retreat Site Located 70 miles from the White House in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland, Camp David was established in 1942 as a place for the President to relax and entertain.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted to escape the summer heat of Washington, D.C., and the higher altitude of the Camp provided cool breezes and good security. President Roosevelt called the Camp "Shangri-La" after the mountain kingdom in James Hilton's book Lost Horizon. It was renamed Camp David in 1953 by President Eisenhower in honor of his grandson. The Camp is operated by Navy personnel, and troops from the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., provide permanent security. Marine One carries the President during the half-hour helicopter ride from our Nation's capital. Guests at Camp David can enjoy a pool, putting green, driving range, tennis courts, gymnasium, and the many guest cabins -- Dogwood, Maple, Holly, Birch, and Rosebud, to name a few. The presidential cabin is called Aspen Lodge. Camp David has been the site of many historic international meetings. It was there, during World War II, that President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill planned the Allies' invasion of Europe.

Many historical events have occurred at the Presidential Retreat; the planning of the Normandy invasion, Eisenhower-Khrushchev meetings, discussions of the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War discussions, and many other meetings with foreign dignitaries and guests. President Jimmy Carter chose the site for the meeting of Middle East leaders that led to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Camp David continues to serve as the Presidential Retreat. It is a private, secluded place for recreation, contemplation, rest, and relaxation. Maintaining the privacy and secluded atmosphere of the retreat is an important role for Catoctin Mountain Park. The Presidential Retreat still remains within park boundaries but is not open to the public. It is a place where presidents can relax, unwind, contemplate, entertain distinguished guests in an informal setting, and cope with the pressures of modern day society. The Presidential retreat is not open or accessible to the public, but the eastern hardwood forest of Catoctin Mountain Park has many other attractions for visitors: camping, picnicking, fishing, 25 miles of hiking trails, scenic mountain vistas, all await exploration.

Catoctin Mountain Park was originally submarginal land purchased by the government in 1936, to be developed into a recreational facility. The facility was to demonstrate how rough terrain and eroded soil could be turned into productive land again. The New Deal's Works Progress Administration, WPA, began the work in the newly created Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, joined by the Civilian Conservation Crops, CCC, in 1939. Camp Misty Mount was first used by the Maryland League for Crippled Children. After the first year, the League moved to a second camp in 1938, Camp Greentop, because Camp Misty Mount's terrain was difficult to negotiate in a wheelchair. A third camp, Camp Hi-Catoctin, was completed in the winter of 1938-1939 and was used for three years as a family camp for federal employees. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was accustomed to seeking relief from hot Washington, D.C. summers and relaxing on weekends, aboard the presidential yacht "Potomac" or at Hyde Park, NY. In 1942 the U.S.

Secret Service were very concerned about the President's continued use of the "Potomac." World War II had brought an attack on Pearl Harbor and German U boats close in Atlantic waters. Presidential safety was a concern and Presidential health was also a concern. The muggy climate of Washington, D.C., was considered detrimental to his health, affecting his sinuses. A new retreat, a place to relax, within a 100 mile radius of Washington, D.C. and in the cool mountain air was sought. Several sites were considered but Camp Hi-Catoctin in the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was selected after the President's first visit on April 22, 1942. A camp was already built on the site and the estimated conversion cost was $18,650. It was also almost 10 degrees cooler than Washington. The camp for federal employee's families became the camp of one federal employee, the President of the United States. Roosevelt quickly renamed the camp to "Shangri-La" from James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon.

Milestones: 1977–1980 - Office of the Historian Milestones: 1977–1980 Camp David Accords and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process The Camp David Accords, signed by President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in September 1978, established a framework for a historic peace treaty concluded between Israel and Egypt in March 1979. President Carter and the U.S. Government played leading roles in creating the opportunity for this agreement to occur. From the start of his administration, Carter and his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, pursued intensive negotiations with Arab and Israeli leaders, hoping to reconvene the Geneva Conference, which had been established in December 1973 to seek an end to the Arab-Israeli dispute. President Jimmy Carter with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David, Maryland in September 1978. (Jimmy Carter Library) As Carter and Vance met with individual leaders from Arab countries and Israel during the spring of 1977, negotiations for a return to Geneva appeared to gain some momentum.

On May 17, 1977, an Israeli election upset stunned the Carter administration as the moderate Israeli Labor Party lost for the first time in Israel’s history. Menachem Begin, the leader of the conservative Likud Party and the new Israeli Prime Minister, appeared intractable on the issue of exchanging land for peace. His party’s commitment to “greater Israel” left Carter with an even more challenging situation during the summer of 1977. In addition to the new reality of a Likud government in Israel, long-standing rivalries among Arab leaders also played a role in blocking substantive progress in negotiations for a Geneva conference. By early November, Egyptian President Sadat found himself frustrated by the lack of movement and made a dramatic move, announcing on November 9 that he would be willing to go to Jerusalem. This move stunned the world. Sadat would attempt to break the deadlock and to engage the Israelis directly for a Middle East settlement, eschewing any talk of returning to the Geneva Conference. Sadat’s visit led to direct talks between Egypt and Israel that December, but these talks did not generate substantive progress. By January 1978, the United States returned to a more prominent negotiation role.

During the spring and early summer of 1978, the United States attempted to find common ground with regard to Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai, West Bank, and Gaza. Egypt insisted on an Israeli withdrawal to June 4, 1967 borders in exchange for security arrangements and minor border modifications. Israel rejected Egypt’s insistence on withdrawal, especially from the West Bank and Gaza. It argued instead for some form of Palestinian autonomy during a five-year interim period followed by the possibility of sovereignty after the interim period expired. The impasse over the West Bank and Gaza led Carter to intercede directly in an attempt to resolve the deadlock. By July 30, as Sadat expressed disappointment over the progress of negotiations and a desire to cut direct contacts off with the Israelis, Carter decided to call for a summit meeting. This meeting would bring Sadat, Begin, and Carter together at the presidential retreat in Maryland at Camp David. On August 8, the White House spokesman formally announced the meeting, which both Begin and Sadat agreed to attend in September. The Camp David Summit, held from September 5–17, 1978, was a pivotal moment both in the history of the Arab-Israeli dispute and U.S.

diplomacy. Rarely had a U.S. President devoted as much sustained attention to a single foreign policy issue as Carter did over the summit’s two-week duration. Carter’s ambitious goals for the talks included breaking the negotiating deadlock and hammering out a detailed Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement. To this end, U.S. Middle East experts produced a draft treaty text, which served as the basis for the negotiations and would be revised numerous times during the Summit. The talks proved extremely challenging, especially when the trilateral format became impossible to sustain. Instead, Carter and Vance met with the Egyptian and Israeli delegations individually over the course of the next twelve days. The talks ranged over a number of issues, including the future of Israeli settlements and airbases in the Sinai Peninsula, but it was Gaza and the West Bank that continued to pose the most difficulty. Specifically, the delegations were divided over the applicability of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 to a long-term agreement in the territories, as well as the status of Israel’s settlements during projected negotiations on Palestinian autonomy that would follow a peace treaty.

In the end, while the Summit did not produce a formal peace agreement, it successfully produced the basis for an Egyptian-Israeli peace, in the form of two “Framework” documents, which laid out the principles of a bilateral peace agreement as well as a formula for Palestinian self-government in Gaza and the West Bank. While the conclusion of the Camp David Accords represented significant progress, the process of translating the Framework documents into a formal peace treaty proved daunting. As with the Summit, Carter’s hopes for rapid progress were high, and the President hoped that a treaty text would be concluded in a matter of days. However, the controversy that developed between the Carter administration and the Begin government over the duration of an agreed freeze in the construction of Israeli settlements was quickly followed by the administration’s failure to win support from Jordan or Saudi Arabia for the Accords. Beginning in October, a series of talks in Washington broke down as a result of Israeli concerns over the timing of their withdrawal and Egyptian reservations regarding the impact of a peace treaty on its obligations to other Arab states. Other regional developments, especially the Iranian Revolution, distracted U.S.

policymakers and raised Israeli concerns about its oil supply, resulting in an impasse during the winter of 1978–1979. After Begin’s visit to the White House in early March failed to break the stalemate, Carter traveled to Israel on March 10. Having previously secured Sadat’s consent to negotiate on behalf of Egypt, the President engaged in three days of intensive talks with the Israelis. As a result of a series of compromises, notably a U.S. guarantee of Israel’s oil supply, omitting references to a “special role” for Egypt in Gaza, and Israeli agreement to make a number of unilateral gestures to the Palestinians, the U.S. and Israeli delegations agreed to a treaty text on March 13. Sadat quickly assented to the agreement and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty was formally signed on March 26. Although a landmark event, the successful conclusion of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty represented the high-water mark for the Peace Process during the Carter Presidency. After March 1979, the issue would not receive the same level of U.S.

attention due to the competing demands of crises, especially those in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as Carter’s desire to reduce his personal involvement in the next round of negotiations devoted to Palestinian autonomy. For those talks, Carter appointed a “special negotiator” to represent the United States; former Special Trade Representative Robert Strauss served in this role briefly before being replaced in the fall of 1979 by Sol Linowitz, who had previously helped negotiate the Panama Canal treaty. The talks failed to produce much as Palestinian representatives refused to participate, and the gap between Egyptian and Israeli positions on Palestinian self-government, not to mention their respective stances on Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and the legal status of East Jerusalem, proved unbridgeable. Presidential Retreat - Catoctin Mountain Park (U.S. National Park Service) Presidential Retreat Presidential Retreat Presidential Retreat Catoctin Mountain Park was originally submarginal land purchased by the government in 1936, to be developed into a recreational facility. The facility was to demonstrate how rough terrain and eroded soil could be turned into productive land again.

The New Deal's Works Progress Administration, WPA, began the work in the newly created Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, joined by the Civilian Conservation Crops, CCC, in 1939. Camp Misty Mount was first used by the Maryland League for Crippled Children. After the first year, the League moved to a second camp in 1938, Camp Greentop, because Camp Misty Mount's terrain was difficult to negotiate in a wheelchair. A third camp, Camp Hi-Catoctin, was completed in the winter of 1938-1939 and was used for three years as a family camp for federal employees. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was accustomed to seeking relief from hot Washington, D.C. summers and relaxing on weekends, aboard the presidential yacht "Potomac" or at Hyde Park, NY. In 1942, the U.S. Secret Service were very concerned about the President's continued use of the "Potomac." World War II had brought an attack on Pearl Harbor and German U-boats close in Atlantic waters. Presidential safety was a concern and Presidential health was also a concern.

The muggy climate of Washington, D.C., was considered detrimental to his health, affecting his sinuses. A new retreat, a place to relax, within a 100 mile radius of Washington, D.C. and in the cool mountain air was sought. Several sites were considered, but Camp Hi-Catoctin in the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was selected after the President's first visit on April 22, 1942. A camp was already built on the site and the estimated conversion cost was $18,650. It was also almost 10 degrees cooler than in Washington, D.C. The camp for federal employee's families became the camp of one federal employee, the President of the United States. Roosevelt quickly renamed the camp to "Shangri-La" from James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. Dwight D. Eisenhower's oil painting of one of the cottages at Camp David (Oil, undated, by Dwight D. Eisenhower, David H. Marx, Shrewsbury, N.J.) At the close of World War II, there was some debate over the future of Shangri-La.

Should it be returned to the National Park Service? Should it be maintained as a national shrine or monument? Should it be transferred to the Maryland State Forest and Park System, as was the original plan of the demonstration area? In a letter to Maryland Governor Herbert R. O'Connor, President Truman wrote: "I have decided because of the historical events of national and international interest now associated with the Catoctin Recreation Area that this property should be retained by the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior. This action is in accord with the position expressed by the late President Roosevelt before his death." In 1952, Truman approved a compromise under which the land north of Maryland Route 77 would remain Catoctin Mountain Park operated by the National Park Service and the land south of Maryland Route 77 would become Cunningham Falls State Park. The official transfer took effect in 1954. President Eisenhower renamed the retreat, after he took office in 1953, "Camp David," after his grandson. Camp David continues to serve as the Presidential Retreat today. It is a private, secluded place for recreation, contemplation, rest, and relaxation.

Many historical events have occurred at the Presidential Retreat; the planning of the Normandy invasion, Eisenhower-Khrushchev meetings, Camp David Accords with Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt, discussions of the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War discussions, and many other meetings with foreign dignitaries and guests. Maintaining the privacy and secluded atmosphere of the retreat is an important role for Catoctin Mountain Park. The Presidential Retreat still remains within park boundaries, but is not open to the public. It is a place where Presidents can relax, unwind, contemplate, entertain distinguished guests in an informal setting, and cope with the pressures of modern-day society. We hope that you will also understand the value of a place of privacy for the President and accept that the retreat is not open to visitors. Camp David | A History of the Presidential Retreat Presidential Factfile For more than 50 years now, when presidents have wanted privacy, they have sought the cool, secluded lodges and cabins of Camp David , the presidential retreat tucked away in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. Presidents have entertained visiting heads of state, such a former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , conducted cabinet meetings, and briefed Congressional leaders at the retreat.

The 1978 Middle East peace talks concluded with what have become known as the Camp David Accords. Yet few Americans know much about the place, considering its prominence. Federal Summer Camp It all started in 1935, when the Work Projects Administration , WPA, began building the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area Project near Thurmont, Maryland, as an example of creating parks from worn-out agricultural land. Three years later, the area opened as a camp for federal government employees and their families. Known as Hi-Catoctin, the facility consisted of several small cabins, a dining hall, and a swimming pool. Covered with trees and 1,800 feet above sea level, the spot provided a cool respite from the near tropical humidity of the Washington, DC, area. Meanwhile, immediately after America's entry into World War II, doctors for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt were urging the ailing president to find a place convenient to Washington, yet far enough away to escape the heat and political pressures of the city. The presidential yacht, USS Potomac, was out of the question because of heightened security considerations imposed by the war.

After a search committee considered two other sites on Furnace Mountain on the Virginia side of the Potomac River below Harper's Ferry; and Shenandoah National Park, Virginia; Roosevelt toured two sites in the Catoctin Mountains. He picked Hi-Catoctin, issuing a set of instructions on how the buildings should be remodeled and asking for the construction of a main lodge, which resembled the Roosevelt winter vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia. The initial work cost $25,000. The camp was renamed the USS Shangri La, to follow up on the nautical connection, since many workers involved with the Potomac worked on the camp. Popular Presidential Choice Since Roosevelt inaugurated Shangri-La with a three-day visit beginning July 18, 1942, all subsequent presidents have made extensive use of the mountain top retreat. President Harry Truman did not visit Shangri-La often because Bess, his wife, felt it was dull. However, when they did visit, the Trumans enjoyed Shangri-La. Truman's favorite sport was walking and he spent long hours wandering the mountain trails with a secret service agent in tow.

Renamed Camp David President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name of the retreat to Camp David in honor of his grandson, David Eisenhower. Although he and his wife, Mamie, tended to use Camp David for private relaxation, Eisenhower held the first cabinet meeting ever to take place there. He also hosted British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David. President John Kennedy and his family visited the camp often, enjoying the horseback riding and other recreational opportunities. Kennedy also allowed White House staff and cabinet members to use Camp David when he was not there. President Lyndon Johnson held several important discussions with advisers on the Vietnam War, the crisis in the Dominican Republic, and other world events, at Camp David and hosted Prime Minister and Mrs. Harold Holt of Australia. Reconstruction and Improvements President Richard Nixon used Camp David as much as his five predecessors combined. Nixon had several new buildings built in compatible architectural styles, but complete with modern conveniences. He held cabinet meetings, staff conferences, hosted foreign dignitaries, and family get togethers at Camp David. President Gerald Ford rode around Camp David on a snowmobile, and hosted President and Mrs. Suharto of Indonesia.

President Jimmy Carter hosted the now famous Camp David Summit in 1978, between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and resulted in what are now known as the Camp David Accords establishing peace between Egypt and Israel. Carter also enjoyed fly-fishing. President Ronald Reagan spent more time at Camp David than any other president. He liked horseback riding and working in the woodworking shop. Nancy Reagan worked on various landscaping improvements and updated decorating in some of the buildings. They also hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. A Camp David Wedding President George Bush pitched horseshoes at Camp David, and welcomed Prince Charles to the retreat. In 1992, Bush's daughter, Dorothy "Doro" married Bobby Koch at Camp David, the first wedding ever performed there. While President Bill Clinton visited Camp David infrequently in the early days of his administration, he did hold a week-long retreat on management with incoming administration officials in 1993. As his term progressed, however, Clinton spent more time at the retreat. President George W. Bush is a frequent visitor to Camp David, and has spent hundreds of days there. He has entertained numerous foreign leaders there as well as friends and family.

Did you know? Camp David - The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum The President & Family Camp David The Presidential retreat Camp David is located in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, in close proximity to Washington, D.C. by helicopter. The retreat, more formally known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont, is an active naval base staffed by Marine and Navy personnel. The site comprises 180 acres with multiple cabins for the President, his family, and their guests. Military personnel protect their covers during the arrival of President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and Mrs. Kim Yoon-ok at Camp David, April 18, 2008, in Thurmont, Maryland. Courtesy George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum (P041808JB-0018) Shangri-la, as the retreat was dubbed by Franklin Roosevelt, was originally a boys and girls camp built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the many federal programs devised to combat the Great Depression. With American entry into World War II, security concerns over FDR’s Potomac River cruises led to the establishment of Shangri-la in 1942 as an alternative locale for Presidential recreation.

Dwight Eisenhower later renamed the retreat after his grandson, David. For half a century, subsequent Presidents and their families have appreciated the beauty of the site and the opportunity for relaxation it provides them to escape Washington for weekends and holidays. Camp David has been used multiple times to host visiting heads of state in a more casual manner than the White House affords. In her memoirs, Laura Bush recalled, “Entertaining at a place like Camp David…was far more relaxed and casual. A visit to Camp David is more like a visit to someone’s weekend place. And it cements a different friendship than simply having a fancy event amid gleaming silver and glittering chandeliers.” Far more than serving a recreational or even a casual ceremonial function, Camp David has also been the site of Presidential diplomacy. President Eisenhower conducted negotiations there with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev over reducing Cold War tensions. During his 1959 visit, Khrushchev was also shown the camp’s bowling alley; although it was the first time he had seen the game, the Soviet leader was reportedly more impressed with the automatic pin-setting machine.

Richard Nixon likewise hosted his Soviet counterpart, Leonid Brezhnev, at Camp David in 1973. Having been presented with a new car as an official gift, Brezhnev insisted that Nixon join him for a test drive. What followed must have been harrowing for Nixon, as Brezhnev sped down the winding, one-lane camp roads in excess of fifty miles an hour. Coming down a steep slope and hitting the brakes, Brezhnev marveled at the car’s abilities. Grateful that they had not injured either themselves or anybody unfortunate enough to have been on the road, Nixon later wrote, “Diplomacy is not always an easy art.” Arguably the most famous Presidential activity connected to Camp David was the series of negotiations hosted by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Over the course of several days, Carter met with the two leaders and the three hammered out an agreement providing for peace between Egypt and Israel. Known ever after as the Camp David Accords, the agreement was also seen as a first step toward an overall settlement of Middle East disputes, and it was the greatest foreign policy triumph of Carter’s Presidency.

Bibliography Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart (New York: Scribner, 2010). Doris Kearns Goodwin, No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front and World War II (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994). Peter Carlson, K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude, Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America’s Most Unlikely Tourist (New York: PublicAffairs, 2009). Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Touchstone, 1978). Camp David | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Camp David To every President since Franklin Roosevelt, Camp David has offered solitude, tranquility, and a place to host foreign leaders. Camp David, known formally as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont, is the President’s country residence. Located in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland, Camp David has offered Presidents an opportunity for solitude and tranquility, as well as an ideal place to host foreign leaders.

Adapted from the federal employee retreat Hi-Catoctin, President Franklin Roosevelt established the residence as USS Shangri La, modeling the new main lodge after the Roosevelt winter vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia. President Eisenhower subsequently renamed the institution in honor of his grandson David. Camp David has been used extensively to host foreign dignitaries. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain attended the first such meeting in May of 1943; the summit held at the residence in 1978 for Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin resulted in what are now known as the Camp David Accords. Camp David Presidential Retreat Camp David Presidential Retreat By: Craig Shipp Location: Thurmont, Maryland, Fredrick County, USA A presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of northern Maryland north-northwest of Washington, D.C. It was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 as Shangri-La. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it Camp David in honor of his grandson. Camp David is a Presidential weekend retreat in Maryland 's Catoctin Mountains.

Originally a military base, it was turned over to the White House during the Great Depression and was named Shangri-La by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David for his grandson David. It consists of 180 forested acres, protected by a ring of three fences and marine guard patrols. It is maintained by 150 naval personnel and, when the President is in residence, by 250 other support staff. It contains a number of residence cabins for the President and his guests, who often include foreign heads of state. Camp David also has a heated pool, skeet range, tennis courts, and horseshoe pit. It has a conference center where administration officials can meet with the President when he is on a “working vacation.” Expenses for Camp David are part of the Navy Department budget. Click Here for a full-screen slideshow (many photos)! Camp David (or Naval Support Facility Thurmont) is a United States Navy installation. The Camp is commanded by an O-5 (Commander's Rank.) Sailors are mostly Seabees and most officers are in the civil engineering field. The Navy Seabee Detachment does maintenance and beautification.

The sailors must attain " Yankee White " security clearance, the highest level clearance in the Department of Defense (DOD). The sailors are hand picked for their service at Camp David and represent the best of the U.S. Navy. Some of the sailors include: grounds and maintenance personnel, electricians, carpenters, corpsman, and the President's cooks (mess specialists). Click the play arrow below to start a Camp David photo slide show: Video Channel - Presidential History of Frederick County including Camp David: Video clips include Mark Hudson of the Historical Society of Frederick County at the Thurmont Regional Library . The Camp is alleged to be one of the most secure facilities in the world, as reported by a Department of Defense journal in 1998 . The Facility is guarded by one of the United States Marine Corps ' most elite units, MSC-CD (Marine Security Company, Camp David). Each Marine is hand picked from the infantry and sent through a battery of psychological and physical tests. He then must undergo specialized security training at the Marine Corps Security Forces School , in Chesapeake, Virginia . The Marines then report to Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

Assuming the Marines successfully complete all their schooling, they still must attain "Yankee White" security clearance. Only then will the Marines be eligible for the assignment at Camp David. After 12 months of service at Camp David, a Marine is awarded the Presidential Service Badge . Typically tours at Camp David are 18-24 months. ï¿½ President Carter described the retreat: Camp David is trully beautiful, with the cottages (all named after trees) and paths snuggled on top and down one side of a small mountain and sheltered by a thick growth of stately oak, poplar, ash, locust, hickory, and maple trees. A security fence encompasses about 125 acres of rocky terrain, and the close proximity of the living quarters engenders an atmosphere of both isolation and intimacy, conducive to easing tension and encouraging informality. A few golf carts and bicycles were available, but most of the time people walked among the cottages and meeting places.

To prove that there is no such thing as a secret a quick google search turned up the following information regarding many government compounds including Camp David: One article titled Bunkers Beyond the Beltway included: The federal government back-up system - The centralization of the federal government at Washington DC has its obvious drawbacks from a security standpoint. Despite a reportedly extensive underground bunker network in the Capitol region (underground command centers with multiple levels have been built under the East Wing of the White House and under the Pentagon, for example), the federal government has maintained the strategy that, in the event of a truly serious situation, its best to head for the hills. Duplicating and securing the federal government beyond the beltway initiated an underground building boom that began in the 1950’s, and lead to the creation of almost a hundred "continuity of government" locations within the Federal Arc, a 300 mile radius around the capitol, according to published reports in the press.* These facilities were built to house representatives of nearly all the branches of government, in underground shelters, to sit out the fallout from a nuclear war, and to be able to continue the operations of a federal government once the bombardment stopped.

As important as maintaining personnel to carry out the command of government, is the ability to know what is going on in the country and the world, and to be able to communicate, internally and externally. Therefore, a lot of the effort to build back-up systems for the federal government in the event of a nuclear war involved the creation of invulnerable communications systems. Much of this infrastructure, built in the Cold War, is still in use today, with renewed importance in the terrorism era. Some of it is operated by the Defense department, some by secretive intelligence organizations, and some is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The two biggest and most important federal bunkers beyond the beltway are Mount Weather and Raven Rock, in Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. Site R, as Raven Rock is often called, is the alternate command center for the Pentagon. Mount Weather is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s primary hub. Both have somewhere in the neighborhood of 600,000 to 700,000 square feet of underground space, though Raven Rock may be slightly larger.

Together, these two facilities function as the main relocation sites for the highest level civilian and military officials, and what is called, seemingly interchangeably, the "Continuity of Government" and the "Continuity of Operations Plan" (COOP). The present day version of this plan, when it is activated, as recent articles in national newspapers have claimed, calls for 75 to 100 government workers to be kept in one of two underground locations, briefed daily and prepared to take over if the active, elected government is wiped out. COOP was activated hours after the attacks on September 11, and since that time these unknown individuals have been serving in rotations lasting up to three months, in Raven Rock and Mount Weather. Raven Rock gets its name from the hill where it is located, a 650 surface acre site in southern Pennsylvania, next to the Maryland state line. It was first hollowed out in the early 1950’s, and went on line in 1954. Its officially stated function is as the Alternate Joint Communications Center, and a contingency relocation site for the Joint Staff Support Center, a division of the Pentagon.

For much of the Cold War, Site R is said to have had a full-time staff of 350, including representatives of the major military departments and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with space enough for an additional 2,600 people. Site R was supported by nearby Fort Ritchie, Maryland, a 638 acre Army post, with over 2,000 employees, that closed in the 1990’s. It is now administered out of Fort Detrick, Maryland. The Defense Information Systems Agency, Western Hemisphere, a military division that calls itself the "Guardians of the Rock," operates the communication and command center located in the bunker. This is the underground site that is reportedly most favored by Vice President Dick Cheney. The other major Continuity of Operations Plan site is the Mount Weather complex, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. While Site R is dominated by its role as a Department of Defense command facility, Mount Weather is a "civilian" command facility, the center of operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

For its FEMA role as the National Emergency Coordinating Center, it has extensive communication facilities that link it to the nationwide network of FEMA bunkers, relocation sites, and to the White House Situation Room. Underground, there are sleeping accommodations for 2,000, including private sleeping quarters for the President, Cabinet, and the Supreme Court, as well as all the functions required to support large numbers of people underground for considerable periods, such as 500,000 gallons of water that are stored on site, a hospital and a crematorium. The blast door for the main tunnel portal weighs 34 tons and is 5 feet thick. On the surface, the site covers 434 acres, and has several large buildings, including conference and training buildings for FEMA. The government first used the site in 1903 as a weather station. Tunnel boring began in the 1950’s, by the Bureau of Mines and the Army Corps of Engineers, and cost as much as $1 billion in today’s dollars. The number of people on site fluctuates from a few hundred to over 1,000, depending on alert status.

The most famous of the federal "retreats" is Camp David, located in Catoctin Mountain Park, a National Park Service area near Thurmont, Maryland, and only a few miles from Site R, and the Federal Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg. The rustic cabins at the camps have been replaced over the years with semi-rustic-looking bungalows that have the luxuries demanded of heads of state. Approximately 50 buildings are clustered around the highest point in the park, within a 125 acre fenced area, designated as Department of Defense property within the park. Reports about the extent of the underground bunkers at Camp David vary, but there is known to be an underground communications center and a VIP bomb shelter, constructed in 1959. Rumors abound about more extensive facilities, including a tunnel connecting Camp David to Site R. The surrounding park is open to the public, and has a few other "camps" with clusters of buildings, some clearly in use by military personnel, such as the sailors and marines that protect and maintain Camp David.

A few miles from Site R and Camp David, the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is a training campus for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Center was established in 1979, at a 107 acre site originally occupied by St. Joseph’s College, a liberal arts college which closed in 1973. Classrooms and some field training facilities are located on site. The emphasis is training for civilian emergency professionals, such as fire fighters, and emergency response managers and coordinators. A sample of training course titles includes: "Advanced Radiological Accident Assessment - Post-Plume Phase," "Use of Auto-Injectors by Civilian Emergency Medical Personnel to Treat Civilians Exposed to Nerve Agent," and "Mass Fatalities Incident Course." Thousands are trained here every year, and an increase in terrorist related curricula is drawing more students from all over the country. Part of the communication infrastructure designed to support the federal government, is the mysterious and extensive complex known as the Warrenton Training Center (WTC), located in rural Virginia.

Warrenton’s, Station B, the largest of the four locations that make up the WTC, is a 346 acre communications center operated by the Defense Department, with underground bunkers, of unknown extent, for the protection of federal communications infrastructure and for the personnel assigned to protect it (and possibly for other purposes as well). Officially, WTC is administered by the Army to support the National Communications System, an entity established by President Kennedy, that is mandated to provide communications for the federal government, under any circumstance, including those following an all-out nuclear attack. This infrastructure links all the federal emergency bunkers, and provides service for most of the major federal governmental departments, from Agriculture and Energy, to Defense and the NSA. Little is officially released about the function of WTC, though the Federation of American Scientists states that "there are a large number of multi-story buildings" at Station B, "including a number of buildings constructed in the late 1980’s." Warrenton, Station A is an administrative, training, and residential compound, located close to the town of Warrenton. There are numerous buildings on site, from residences to brick office-type buildings.

Station C and D are more remote, and seem to be primarily vast antenna sites. At least one of the two are suspected to have other functions as well, including as "numbers stations" for the CIA, transmitting coded signals for the federal intelligence gathering infrastructure. The Olney Federal Support Center, near Laytonville, Maryland, is a communications and data network site, with known and unknown functions. Located at a former Nike missile base, this location consists of a vast field of antennas, with several surface buildings. It is next to a National Guard detachment, and a large landfill, which has helped fuel suspicions that extensive digging has taken place at the site (the disposal of the dirt from secret subterranean excavation projects is always an issue for the builders of these sites, according to some underground researchers). It is known to be part of FEMA’s National Radio System, a high-frequency radio network that links FEMA’s emergency operations centers. Rumors about multiple levels underground have been circulated primarily by UFOlogists and conspiracy theorists. A number of the original continuity of government sites were closed in the 1990’s.

The most well known of these secret bunkers was code-named Casper, and was kept prepared for congressional members (most of whom were unaware of its existence). This 112,000 square foot bunker, 64 feet underneath the posh Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia, opened in 1962. It had dining facilities (with landscapes painted behind fake windows), a hospital, beds for up to 1,000 people, and separate chambers for the House and the Senate. As recently as 1992 it was staffed by a crew, masquerading as a television repair company, which even kept a current supply of the prescription drugs used by the individual members of Congress, in case the site was activated, according to a CBS news story on the bunker that aired after it was officially decommissioned in 1995. Mount Pony is another major underground federal bunker which is no longer in use as part of the continuity of government plan. This 140,000 square foot, hardened underground complex, near Culpeper, Virginia, opened in 1969, and was used until 1992 by the U. S.

Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. Until 1988, over a billion dollars in currency was stored here to resupply the nation in the event of a devastating nuclear attack, much of it in the form of two dollar bills. For many years it was also the location of the Culpeper Switch, the principal hub of the Federal Reserve’s 40,000 mile secure communications system, that routed the trillions of dollars that pass through the Feds electronic systems annually. (The Federal Reserve is said to have had bunkers for nine of the system’s 12 regional branches, including a 44,000 square foot bunker in western Massachusetts that served the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, acquired in 1992 by Amherst College.) Until 1992, as a government relocation center, the Mount Pony facility had a regular staff of 100 on hand to care for selected government officials who would flee to the site in the event of nuclear war. In 1997, the site was transferred to the Library of Congress for use as an archival storage facility called the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, scheduled to open in 2005.

While many of the continuity of government sites established during the Cold War were designed for existing departments and divisions of the federal government (Congress, Treasury, the Supreme Court, etc.), some facilities housed new and lesser known federal entities, that would gain importance in the event of an emergency, such as a nuclear war. A now unoccupied bunker below the basement of the Lewis Hall of Science at Western Maryland College is an interesting case in point. This 6,000 square foot chamber, accessed by elevator, and equipped with a broadcast facility connected to FEMA’s communications infrastructure, was for the leaders of the United State Office of Censorship, later renamed the Wartime Information Security Program. In the event of a war, a group of eight appointed individuals, and a staff of 40, were to convene at this location to assume their duties leading the national censorship of news broadcast and print media, according to federally mandated emergency guidelines, listed in manuals and code books stored in the bunker. One of the directors of this program was the Vice-President of CBS. In a society such as ours, it is common to have murky alliances between the federal government and private companies that manage systems critical to defense and commerce.

Corporations such as AT&T, for example, have continuity of operations plans and underground back up control centers of their own. If the variety and extent of known underground facilities maintained by the federal government in the Federal Arc is any indication of the pervasiveness of this form of architecture, an inventory of America’s underground spaces would be nearly impossible to compile. The depth and breadth of this subsurface layer of the built landscape will most likely remain obscure, as it was intended to be. Camp David | A History of the Presidential Retreat A brief history of the Presidential mountain retreat and its famous guests by David Johnson President Kennedy with JFK, Jr., at Camp David. (Source: John F. Kennedy Library) For more than 50 years now, when presidents have wanted privacy, they have sought the cool, secluded lodges and cabins of Camp David , the presidential retreat tucked away in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. Presidents have entertained visiting heads of state, such a former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , conducted cabinet meetings, and briefed Congressional leaders at the retreat. The 1978 Middle East peace talks concluded with what have become known as the Camp David Accords. Yet few Americans know much about the place, considering its prominence.

Federal Summer Camp It all started in 1935, when the Work Projects Administration , WPA, began building the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area Project near Thurmont, Maryland, as an example of creating parks from worn-out agricultural land. Three years later, the area opened as a camp for federal government employees and their families. Known as Hi-Catoctin, the facility consisted of several small cabins, a dining hall, and a swimming pool. Covered with trees and 1,800 feet above sea level, the spot provided a cool respite from the near tropical humidity of the Washington, DC, area. Meanwhile, immediately after America's entry into World War II, doctors for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt were urging the ailing president to find a place convenient to Washington, yet far enough away to escape the heat and political pressures of the city. President Nixon with Soviet President Brezhnev standing beside the pool near Aspen. Brezhnev is wearing one of the windbreakers given to all Camp David guests. (Source: Nat'l Archives) The presidential yacht, USS Potomac, was out of the question because of heightened security considerations imposed by the war.

After a search committee considered two other sites on Furnace Mountain on the Virginia side of the Potomac River below Harper's Ferry; and Shenandoah National Park, Virginia; Roosevelt toured two sites in the Catoctin Mountains. He picked Hi-Catoctin, issuing a set of instructions on how the buildings should be remodeled and asking for the construction of a main lodge, which resembled the Roosevelt winter vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia. The initial work cost $25,000. The camp was renamed the USS Shangri La, to follow up on the nautical connection, since many workers involved with the Potomac worked on the camp. Popular Presidential Choice Since Roosevelt inaugurated Shangri-La with a three-day visit beginning July 18, 1942, all subsequent presidents have made extensive use of the mountain top retreat. President Harry Truman did not visit Shangri-La often because Bess, his wife, felt it was dull. However, when they did visit, the Trumans enjoyed Shangri-La. Truman's favorite sport was walking and he spent long hours wandering the mountain trails with a secret service agent in tow.

RELATED LINKS Presidential Factfile Renamed Camp David President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name of the retreat to Camp David in honor of his grandson, David Eisenhower. Although he and his wife, Mamie, tended to use Camp David for private relaxation, Eisenhower held the first cabinet meeting ever to take place there. He also hosted British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David. President John Kennedy and his family visited the camp often, enjoying the horseback riding and other recreational opportunities. Kennedy also allowed White House staff and cabinet members to use Camp David when he was not there. President Lyndon Johnson held several important discussions with advisers on the Vietnam War, the crisis in the Dominican Republic, and other world events, at Camp David and hosted Prime Minister and Mrs. Harold Holt of Australia. The Reagans at Camp David in 1984. (Source: Ronald Reagan Library) Reconstruction and Improvements President Richard Nixon used Camp David as much as his five predecessors combined. Nixon had several new buildings built in compatible architectural styles, but complete with modern conveniences. He held cabinet meetings, staff conferences, hosted foreign dignitaries, and family get togethers at Camp David.

President Gerald Ford rode around Camp David on a snowmobile, and hosted President and Mrs. Suharto of Indonesia. President Jimmy Carter hosted the now famous Camp David Summit in 1978, between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and resulted in what are now known as the Camp David Accords establishing peace between Egypt and Israel. Carter also enjoyed fly-fishing. President Ronald Reagan spent more time at Camp David than any other president. He liked horseback riding and working in the woodworking shop. Nancy Reagan worked on various landscaping improvements and updated decorating in some of the buildings. They also hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. A Camp David Wedding President George Bush pitched horseshoes at Camp David, and welcomed Prince Charles to the retreat. In 1992, Bush's daughter, Dorothy "Doro" married Bobby Koch at Camp David, the first wedding ever performed there. While President Bill Clinton visited Camp David infrequently in the early days of his administration, he did hold a week-long retreat on management with incoming administration officials in 1993. As his term progressed, however, Clinton spent more time at the retreat. President George W.

Bush is a frequent visitor to Camp David, and has spent hundreds of days there. He has entertained numerous foreign leaders there as well as friends and family. Advertisement Advertisement

Question: The US Presidential retreat Camp David is in which state?
Answer: Maryland